Providing a robust ecommerce experience will encourage 83% of procurement officers to spend more when purchasing the supplies they need. This according to the 2018 Avionos Procurement Officer Study.

The move to a more ecommerce centric purchasing behavior is going to lead away from the traditional in-person relationships previously seen in B2B. The change is being driven by millennials, who are replacing Baby Boomers in greater numbers. Scott Webb, president of Avionos, explained the change taking place in a recent press release.

Webb said, “As millennials take on more procurement roles, the way organizations deliver that personalized experience needs to adapt to the digitally native nature of this new generation of customers if they want to maintain this market share.”

However, the study also suggests B2Bs are not adapting to the needs of millennials who are replacing older employees in these critical procurement positions. Avionos is recommending the deployment of cloud-based ecommerce solutions to maximize benefits from these changes coming to B2B.

Small businesses dealing with these new procurement officers have to deploy the technologies the new generation of employees will be using. Cloud-based ecommerce is one way of connecting with millennials and other digitally savvy purchasers. Using cloud you can engage with your customers across devices, channels, locations and platforms without worrying about compatibility issues and missing opportunities.

The 2018 Avionos Procurement Officer Study was carried out with the participation of 160 U.S. B2B procurement officers. The study explored their purchasing habits in a survey conducted in March 2018. Almost half or 49% were 36-53 years old, 43% were 18-35 and the remaining 8% were 54-72.

B2B eCommerce Trends Study – Key Findings

When it comes to procurement officers, 89% or almost nine out of 10 said they are making more purchases online today than they did a year ago. And for almost all of them or 97%, the online customer portal is critically important — and the key to selecting a supplier.

A portal approach is critical because self-service is so important for this demographic.

Once they are on the site, they want suppliers to offer detailed product content, because 54% said this would make them feel more confident in the purchases they make. Related to this data point, another 43% revealed not having accurate content is the biggest pain point in their online buying experience.

Last but not least, Avionos suggests B2B companies have a comprehensive approach to expanding their digital brand by creating a competitive edge. According to the respondents in the survey, 78% begin their product discovery on either Amazon or Google.

In the report, Avionos says, “You can’t just build an ecommerce site and forget about it.” This is true for all businesses with an ecommerce site these days. The company says businesses have to innovate as market demands evolve and keep pace with the needs of their customers.

Michael Guta is a Staff Writer for Small Business Trends focusing on business systems, gadgets and other small business news. He has a background in information and communications technology coordination.

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